Fitting
Titleist expands its RCT line with Pro V1x Left Dash and AVX models in nod to assist fitters
Nearly a year ago, Titleist introduced its Pro V1 and Pro V1x RCT. “RCT” stands for “radar capture technology.” Specifically, a silver marking is placed inside the ball on the mantle layer that makes indoor fittings using a Trackman launch monitor more precise, even though it’s perfectly OK for outdoor use, too.
However, understanding its audience, Titleist has increased its RCT offerings to include the Pro V1x Left Dash and AVX models as well, allowing for a full fitting experience for those using their preferred Titleist golf ball in an indoor location. The Pro V1x Left Dash and AVX RCT balls are available online and in selected golf shops immediately for $65 per dozen.
The full line of RCT balls are designed to work with Trackman launch monitors and, importantly, deliver more accurate spin data. Here's why: Trackman launch monitors use a doppler radar-based technology that in an indoor setting requires the application of a reflective sticker to almost all golf balls to better gauge performance as it flies off the clubface into a net or screen. But even with that sticker, which requires a precise orientation before each hit and can fall off after a series of hits, the Trackman device has to use a complicated algorithm to calculate spin. That’s why you’ll often see an italicized spin number on a Trackman readout indicating the number is an only an estimate. More precisely, it means the spin number was not actually measured. Further complicating matters is that in an indoor setting and for the higher swing speeds, a Trackman might need more than 20 feet of space to get the necessary information to make even a reasonable estimate.
While those estimates are very good, the best fitters don’t want decisions based on estimates. Fact is, a few hundred RPM here or there might mean the difference between two driver shafts and a significant number of yards. The RCT balls eliminate the need for stickers and do not require the balls to be oriented in any particular manner thanks to reflective silver markings inside the ball on the mantle layer. Although they can't be seen, these markings effectively taking the place of the stickers.
The silver markings place inside the Titleist RCT balls mean you don't need to apply stickers on to the ball to get precise data when using it in an indoor fitting session.
“Within just a few shots, I knew this golf ball was a game-changer,” said Adam Kolloff, owner and director of instruction at Pure Drive Golf in Woburn, Mass. “When you teach indoors, you’re reliant on good data and feedback, because you don’t have the luxury of seeing the full flight of the golf ball. If you’re getting erroneous data from your launch monitor, then it’s very easy to go down a bad rabbit hole, looking for solutions to a problem that might not even exist. The best thing about RCT is that it doesn’t matter how the ball is oriented, you just put the ball down in front of Trackman and you get accurate spin numbers and a true picture of every shot that’s hit.”
And now that picture can be painted with four RCT ball models instead of two.